Thank you to all who participated in the Millet & District Museum & Archives Christmas events, sponsored by the Millet & District Historical Society through Town of Millet FCSS funding. Thank you to Peggy Robinson for making and donating the stockings.…
Christmas tree decorations were largely handmade or edible in the early 1900s, at least in North America, especially in rural areas like Millet. Ornaments like paper chains, held together with flour and water paste, were made at home or school. The trees…
Eaton's was a small store in Toronto. Started in 1869, it would grow to become one of Canada’s largest department store chains. Eaton’s first catalogue was sent out in 1884. The last Eaton’s catalogue was sent out in 1976. Eaton’s went bankrupt…
Many ancient cultures sang holiday songs during festivals and holidays. A carol is a song of joy. Christmas hymns were written between 100-1200 C.E. but where mostly in Latin and not commonly sung. In 1223, songs began to be written for Christmas plays…
Bells have been a part of Christmas traditions for hundreds of years. Many churches had bells, which they rang to announce the start of Christmas Eve services. When caroling became popular in the 1800s, people often took small hand bells with them, to…
There are 74 separate references to school Christmas concerts in the Tales and Trails of Millet. Several of these call it the highlight of the school year. These stories stretch back from over 100 years ago. The school Christmas concert was a big event…
In ancient Norse traditions, children left out food for Odin’s eight-legged horse Sleipner, hoping Odin would stop and leave them gifts. In North America, the tradition of leaving milk and cookies for Santa began in the 1930s. During the Great Depression,…
Turkeys became popular to eat in Europe in the 1840/1850s, but didn’t become widespread until after the Second World War (1945). In Millet in 1896, Christmas dinner included Christmas cakes, mince meat pie, roast beef and pork, lutefisk (dried/salted…
Candy sticks have existed for hundreds of years. Originally these sticks were just plain, straight white sticks made out of unflavored hardened sugar. One legend says a choir master from the Cologne Cathedral in Germany had candy canes made in 1670,…
Gingerbread can be traced back to ancient times. One common legend claims gingerbread was invented to cure indigestion; much like how we use ginger ale. The word "gingerbread" comes from the Old French word "gingebras," which means "preserved ginger."…
One story tells of a local man, Swede John (Johnson) going to people’s houses on Christmas Eve and throwing in flour sacks with apples, candy, and mittens knitted by Mrs. Johnson for the children. This came from an old Swedish custom where Yuletide…
The first recorded drawing of a snowman comes from a manuscript from 1380. In 1494, the famous Italian artist Michelangelo made a snow sculpture. We don’t know what it looked like, but people who saw it wrote down how very beautiful it was. The earliest…
These are stockings. Stockings like these were worn instead of short socks. In the winter, they could get wet and cold, and have to be hung by the fire to dry. The idea of placing gifts in stockings comes from stories about St. Nicholas placing gifts…
Many ancient cultures used evergreen trees or wreaths as a sign of eternal life, and as a way to scare away evil. In the medieval era, people in Germany began hanging apples, wafers, and candles on trees, and placing wooden figurines of characters from…
Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Season's Greetings! We hope you have a safe, healthy, and joyous December and January! We recognize many people choose to celebrate a variety of holidays in a variety of ways at this time of year, or choose not to celebrate…